Maintenance of low-running cars: Is it possible to do it on your own

My Mahindra XUV500 has clocked 17,000 km in 2 years and has been serviced 4 times in this period.

BHPian slipperyslipped recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I'm sitting at the Mahindra Service Centre as my XUX 500 is in for its 20,000KM service.

The thing is, I have only driven it for 17,000 km over a period of 2 years. Yep... If I recall correctly, the car has been serviced 4 times in this period.

My question is, what should be the ideal maintenance schedule if a car is being driven this rarely? And is it possible for someone not very mechanically inclined to do the maintenance themselves?

Thank you.

Here's what BHPian AROO7 had to say about the matter:

The question is do you have the time, patience, space to work on, and the right tools to carry out the maintenance yourself? To get a better idea go through BHPian Jeron's thread about maintaining his vintage beauties.

Now coming back to my first question, let's say you have all these. Then you need to download or arrange for the workshop manual of the XUV500. Follow it religiously and you would be good to go. If the answer to the first question is a no, then don't worry much. If your running is less follow the rule of 10,000 km or 1 year. I do the same for my beater i10 which is mainly used to get groceries and run errands. Because saving 5-8k in a year is neither worth the hassle nor the time.

Here's what BHPian anandhsub had to say about the matter:

17k over 2 years is not exactly little running. I know cars that run < 5k a year and yet they still stick to the specified service intervals. The engine oil and other filters need to be changed yearly irrespective of the running, especially in the dusty conditions that we face in India.

Anyway, as long as you are in the warranty period there is no point in doing DIY. Post that if cost is the only issue you can take it to an FNG. The labour is usually less than half of what the ASS charges and the cost of the parts will be the same.

I wouldn't recommend DIY if not inclined to do so.

Here's what BHPian revsperminute had to say about the matter:

8.5k km/year isn’t really very low running. My Octavia has done only 50k in 8 years of its life. I clocked just 4.5k between the last 2 services. Engineers do a lot of R&D to come up with maintenance schedules for these vehicles. I’d advise you to stick to it.

Here's what BHPian Jeroen had to say about the matter:

As others pointed out, you are still driving it about 8500 km annually. That is not much below the annual average of many family cars.

Usually, Your owner's manual will tell you the required maintenance based on mileage and or time, whichever comes first.

I don’t know what made you think of doing the maintenance yourself. If it is cost, you are only going to save labour cost. And labour cost for car mechanics is pretty low in India to start with.

DIY maintenance is certainly possible. But you do need the correct tools and some knowledge. Ideally, find somebody who knows what they are doing and tag along. Lots of very useful information on YouTube and the internet too.

But whatever you do, stick to the official maintenance schedule, and don’t skimp on replacing parts or liquids! If your car is new and still under warranty, DIY work is likely to void your warranty in India.

Be very cautious when it comes to safety. Both in terms of working on your car as well as with respect to the safety of your car. E.g. never get under a car that is just supported by a Jack, use axle stands. When working on the brakes or the suspension you really need to know what you are doing!

You will be able to find almost any regular maintenance job, but also many special quite challenging jobs I have undertaken on my cars over the years on my thread.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.